Sierra Leone, on the Atlantic Ocean in West Africa, is half the size of Illinois. Guinea, in the north and east, and Liberia, in the south, are its neighbors. Mangrove swamps lie along the coast, with wooded hills and a plateau in the interior. The eastern region is mountainous.
Country lead by President: Ahmad Tejan Kabbah (1998)
Population
6,005,250 (growth rate: 2.3%); birth rate: 45.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 160.4/1000; life expectancy: 40.2; density per sq mi: 217
Land Area
27,653 sq mi (71,621 sq km); total area: 27,699 sq mi (71,740 sq km)
Monetary unit
Leone Language
English (official), Mende (southern vernacular), Temne (northern vernacular), Krio (lingua franca)
Ethnicity 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%); Creole (Krio) 10%; refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians
Religion Islam 60%, indigenous 30%, Christian 10%
Transportation Railways: total: 84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed (2001). Highways: total: 11,330 km; paved: 895 km; unpaved: 10,435 km (1999). Waterways: 800 km; 600 km navigable year round. Ports and harbors: Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel. Airports: 10 (2002).
